Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers - Martin Evening [84]
In the Camera Raw preferences Default Image Settings section, you can also select ‘Apply auto tone adjustments’ as a Camera Raw default. When this is switched on, Camera Raw automatically applies an auto tone adjustment to new images it encounters that have not yet been processed in Camera Raw, while any images you have edited previously via Camera Raw will remain as they are. Auto tone adjustments work really well on most images, such as outdoor scenes and naturally-lit portraits (note the auto algorithm has been updated and improved in both Camera Raw 5.0 and 6.0), but works less well on photographs that have been shot in the studio under controlled lighting conditions. In these instances it can be something of a nuisance and is best left switched off.
The ‘Apply auto grayscale mix when converting to grayscale’ option refers to the HSL/Grayscale controls, where Camera Raw will apply an auto slider grayscale mix adjustment when converting a color photograph to black and white.
Camera-specific default settings
The next two options in the Default Image Settings section allow you to make any default settings camera-specific. Basically, if you go to the Camera Raw fly-out menu options shown in Figure 3.21 , there is an option that allows you to ‘Save New Camera Raw Defaults’ as the new default setting to be used every time Bridge or Camera Raw encounters a new image. On its own, this menu item allows you to create a default setting based on the current Camera Raw settings and apply this to all subsequent photos (except where you have already overridden the default settings). However, if the ‘Make defaults specific to the camera serial number’ option is selected in the Camera Raw preferences ( Figure 3.19 ), selecting ‘Save New Camera Raw Defaults’ only applies this setting as a default to files that will match the same camera serial number. Similarly, if the ‘Make defaults specific to camera ISO setting’ option in Figure 3.19 is checked, this allows you to save default settings for specific ISO values. And when both this and the previous option are checked, you can effectively have, in Camera Raw, multiple default settings that take into account the combination of the camera model and ISO setting.
Figure 3.21 You can use the Camera Raw menu option circled here to choose the ‘Save New Camera Raw Defaults’. This saves all the current Camera Raw settings as a default setting according to how the preferences are set in Figure 3.19 . The important thing to bear in mind here is to only apply the minimal necessary Camera Raw settings before you choose this option. For example, I would suggest keeping the Basic settings neutral.
You do have to be careful how you go about using the ‘Save New Camera Raw Defaults’ option. When used correctly you can cleverly set up Camera Raw to apply appropriate default settings for any camera and ISO setting. However, it is all too easy to make a mistake, or worse still, select the ‘Reset Camera Raw Defaults’ option and undo all your hard work!
The main thing to watch out for is that you don't include too many Camera Raw adjustments (such as the HSL/Grayscale panel settings) as part of a default setting. One approach is to open a previously untouched image, apply a Camera Calibration panel adjustment plus a Detail panel sharpening setting and save this as a camera-specific default. Alternatively, you might find it useful to adjust the Detail panel noise reduction settings for an image shot at a specific ISO setting and save this as a ‘Make defaults specific to camera ISO setting’ ( Figure 3.19 ). Or, you might like to combine both Camera Raw preference options and setup defaults for different ISO settings with specific cameras.
Camera Raw cache size
When photos are rendered using the Camera Raw engine, they go through an early stage initial rendering and the Camera Raw cache can be used to store a cache of all this data so that when you